Why Ski Grant County?

FS 1630 looking north to Strawberry Mtn.

Merit Meadow Loop - FS Rd 16 Logan Valley 12/3/15

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Location: West end Logan Valley: FS Rds 1630 S, 493 W&S, 516 E, 1560 N 1630 N

Road & Trail Conditions: FS 15 rd not plowed, 4-6" ruts over packed snow/ice, Subaru AWD just made it, not for much longer; at 10am. FS 16 rd not plowed; by 2pm was plowed to packed sno/ice.

No groomed trails yet. FS 1630 rd new 4x4 truck tracks since last snow (thank you) = packed powder; 493, 516, 1560: 2-4" powder over older tire tracks = requires a little breaking trail.

new tire tracks 1560 S on left; older tracks & break trail 516 on right

Snow Conditions: 8-10" almost powder over packed base

Skis on & temperature: 10:30am  30° overcast broke into mostly sunny at noon; forecast 32 mph winds didn't materialize until evening (42° @ JD)

Skis off & temperature: 2pm 42° (54° @ JD)

Distance: 8 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10

Comments: there aren't many loop options because of terrain & road layout.  this is an easy one; a little elevation gain at the 516 & a fun descent to the 1560. rest is flat.  a very easy, flat route would be the 1630 S as far as you like and then turn back.

1630 rd north & Strawberry Mtn.

Railroad Grade - Summit Prairie to Logan Valley 11/30/15

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Location: County rd62 Prairie City to Summit Prairie.  turn right at FS 16rd for 100'. go straight west 100' when 16 jogs left into small plowed parking area. there is no visible road # sign at the east end of 097, possibly because the first several hundred feet are private property.

fs 133 goes north & uphill; 097 is the tracks going left

Road & Trail Conditions: 62 road plowed & gravel; patchy snow/ice until Trout Farm campground, then solid.  FS 16rd is plowed Summit Prairie to Seneca, packed snow/ice, no gravel, 20-25mph. FS 15rd - Parish Cabin to Canyon Meadows (Wickiup Campground) not plowed - 4x4 trucks kept open, not for long; County Rd65 to 395 plowed, patchy snow/ice.

Snow Conditions: 2-3" new powder over 2-3' base, no groomed trails, a few snowmobile tracks leaving Huddleston snopark; some roads have 4x4 pickup tracks - packed powder, easy to ski on

Skis on & temperature: 11:30am  24° (prairie city 18°)

Skis off & temperature: 3pm 35° (john day 27°)

Distance: 9 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 9

Comments: beautiful day, great snow got a little soft & sticky as temp. rose.  hardly any elevation gain = FLAT. another few inches of dry snow this week could produce lovely conditions.

 

truck tire tracks stopped and broke trail for the last ?mile. breaking trail is good conditioning and generates appreciation for the snocat trail groomer that does over 40 miles in a day.

Forest Service 16 Road Plowed Through Logan Valley

On 11/30/15 the FS 16 road was plowed down to packed ice/snow from Summit Prairie to Seneca. As long as this continues it allows for starting ski trips from Logan Valley, rather than skiing in 10 miles from Summit Prairie or Canyon Meadows.  The maps below show some of the possible trails north & south of the 16 road. There are more than a dozen possibilities depending on grooming, snowmobiles and/or truck tire tracks.

The FS 15 road was not plowed from the 16 road (Parish Cabin) to Canyon Meadows and seemingly won't be. Access to the Logan Valley trails via the 16 road will be from Prairie Summit or Seneca.  It's a bit of a drive; the more level trails, loop trails and scenery may be worth it.

Logan Valley West - click on map for larger version

 

Logan Valley East - click on map for larger version

Giving Thanks Day Ski - 11/26/15

Location: Summit Prairie, 994 FSrd east to Starvation Rock, 101 FSrd west to Skyline Trailhead.  6 miles

Snow:  6" fresh powder over small base. perfect

Skis on:  10am  20°, sunny, no wind

Skis off: 3pm, 20°

Trail: no grooming yet. 4x4 truck tire tracks, good condition, some break trail.  on undriven trails snow is too deep to ski.

Suggestions:  10 on a scale of 10. a group of 3 hunters had driven up the 994 road, only way i could ski up.  they came back a little later as i was coming down, stopped, asked: is it ok with you if we hunt along this road?

i love this place

First Ski: Summit Prairie 11/19/15

Location: Summit Prairie, 101 FSrd west to 125

Snow:  3" fresh overnite on top of 3" last Sunday.  Wet, more like Cascade Mtn. snow

Skis on:  11:30am  32°, constant mist

Skis off: 3pm, 40° moderate rain, snow slushy & compacted to 2"

Suggestions:  wait until next snowstorm.

good first ski of the season, was pretty wet by end.  ready for powder.